Many attempts have been made to devise new and improved devices for use with inhalers, aerosol dispensers, and nebulizers. However, there has long been and there remains a need to reduce the number of components needed to employ and use such devices effectively. Also, increased competition has created the need for devices that are less expensive to manufacture, which has in turn established the as yet unmet but long felt demand for inhalation devices that have a reduced number of parts and components and that can be produced at lower production costs with improved performance characteristics.
One attempt at improving the art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,238 to Glenn, which is limited to examples of a multi-part, complicated, and costly to fabricate nebulizer that incorporates multiple air passage ports and a mouthpiece. However, the Glenn nebulizer is restricted to a number of various components that must be fabricated and then assembled together. Additionally, each of the Glenn components incorporates a range of complex surface profiles and includes features that are challenging to form during fabrication, which complexities and challenges only serve to create further increases in part and fabrication costs, among other problems.
Another prior art attempt is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,090 B1 to Piper, which is limited to an inhalation therapy device that is specially adapted for use with reservoir type bags that collapse and expand in response to patient respiration so as to store and reintroduce aerosolized gas as a patient inhales and exhales. Many different components are needed for the Piper '090 device to operate as intended. The Piper components include, among other limitations, a mouthpiece and various ports connected by air passageways that must be fabricated and assembled together in a complex and time-consuming manner to fashion the Piper device. As with other prior attempts, the Piper device suffers from unnecessarily complicated assemblies that increase difficulties to the user and practitioner and that also increase costs of production.
Forchione et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,932 B1 discloses yet another prior attempt to address some of the problems in the art of inhalation devices. Forchione et al. teach an aerosol enhancement device that incorporates a number of components akin to the configuration set forth by the Glenn '238 device that is described above. As with earlier attempts, the Forchione et al. device requires that numerous parts be formed and assembled together to establish the intended objective of communicating medicated air to a patient through a mouthpiece. What is missing from the prior art devices of record here and what continues to be needed is a device that is compatible for use with a wide range of nebulizers, inhalers, and dispensers and that is compatible with and that can be used in any number of possible air passage circuits that may be needed in various applications. The more desirable inhalation device would preferably simultaneously reduce manufacturing costs, decrease the number of parts needed to achieve the objective of communicating medicated air and gases to a patient, and that further reduces the attendant production and implementation costs while increasing operational efficiencies and performance characteristics. The present invention addresses these and other needs and overcomes many of the problems experienced with the prior art devices in a variety of new and novel configurations and with any of a number of possible and equally effective embodiments, configurations, and alternative and preferred and optional arrangements.